There are a number of approaches to providing data storage in networks (e.g., intranets and other local networks). A basic approach is to connect a storage device (e.g., a disk drive, RAID array, tape drive or optical drive) to another network device in the local area network, such as a server or personal computer, using an interface such as the Small Computer System Interface (“SCSI”). The SCSI interface allows network devices, such as a server, to communicate with peripheral devices such as disk drives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives and printers. FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a local area network 106 with a disk array 102 coupled to the local area network 106 through server 104. As shown in FIG. 1A, the server 104 acts as a pathway between the disk array 102 and the local area network 106. The local area network 106 may be any type of local area network, such as a local area network that operates according to the Ethernet protocol.
An alternative approach is a storage area network (“SAN”) as shown in FIG. 1B. A SAN architecture allows storage resources (i.e., disk arrays 102) to be shared among multiple network devices (e.g., servers 104) in the local area network 106. The disk arrays 102 are attached to the servers 104 using, for example, switches 112. Typically, the disk arrays 102 are connected using a high-speed interconnection, such as Fibre Channel technology. The SAN architecture provides any-to-any connectivity between the servers 104 and the disk arrays 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the disk arrays 102 are coupled to the local area network 106 via the switches 112 and the servers 104.